Chinese films galore at Berlin Film Festival

By Xu Keyue Source:Global Times Published: 2019/2/14 18:58:40

Screened at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival, A First Farewell, a film directed by young female director Wang Lina is about China's ethnic groups in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Photo: Sina Weibo

Some 10 Chinese films, featuring topics including China's ethnic groups in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and homosexuality, are scheduled to be screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, with many Chinese movie goers excitedly calling the festival "a big year for Chinese films."

A First Farewell, a film directed by young female director Wang Lina who grew up in Xinjiang, which was screened at the festival on Tuesday, attracted many young audiences, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The film depicts family affections in a story about an ethnic minority child in Xinjiang and his mother.

Chinese female director Xiang Zi's A Dog Barking at the Moon was screened on Monday. It depicts a complex family saga in which a woman discovers her husband is gay.

So Long, My Son directed by Wang Xiaoshuai, is scheduled to compete for the Golden Bear and to premiere on Thursday, according to the festival's website.

Many of the Chinese films being screened at the festival were directed by young directors.

Shi Wenxue, a Beijing-based film critic told the Global Times on Thursday that the new generation of young Chinese directors is telling stories that relate to young people.

"Fresh directors are widely supported and welcomed in China in recent years, because their films resonate with the experiences and feelings of most young audiences." said Shi.

Several other Chinese films, including Lou Ye's The Shadow Play, and Bai Xue's directorial debut The Crossing, were also shown at the festival.

Unfortunately for his legion of fans, veteran director and former Golden Bear winner Zhang Yimou's latest film One Second, a story that took place during the Cultural Revolution(1966-76), was withdrawn from the festival for unspecified "technical difficulties."